Quick update!

I have been neglecting my blog because I feel like I haven't had one free minute for over two months. Case and I have traveled to London and South Korea recently plus we have had lots of fun with family. Coming soon are pics and accounts of said fun times....stay tuned!

Girls camp 2010

I had the joy of attending girls camp this year as an assistant camp director. I was extremely intimidated by this calling because I feel so out of touch with teenagers. I'm in the primary and so I didn't really know any of the girls other than my two cute nieces. I was stressed and felt so inadequate but it actually turned out to be amazing. The girls are so adorable and fun and they treated each other with love and kindness. I truly bonded with them and I loved my experience at girls camp.

Skit Preperation

Crafting

Ok this picture has some awesome history. If
you zoom in on this picture you will see a very
interesting and confusing situation. Oh Mary
how we all love you for this picture.


Trust and Confidence Games

Sergeants in Charge

Best part of the day.......

Oh how we loved the river!


Setting up camp

cupcakes and cakestands

A couple of my friends in my neighborhood are having birthdays this week and so I decided to make some cupcakes for them. As I was making the cupcakes I realized I didn't have any cute plates to put them on. I decided to run to target to see what they had and I found some darling plates. I decided to make them into cake stands and give them as gifts! There isn't a whole lot to them but I think they turned out pretty cute!

The cupcakes are banana bread cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I just used my banana bread recipe and cooked them for 18 mins. ( my banana bread recipe can be found on one of my older posts from 2008) They are really moist and taste so delicious with the cream cheese frosting! One of my new favorite cupcakes!

letter to a complicated old friend

Dear blonde hair,

Hi old friend! I miss you and think you are golden and beautiful. You make me feel young and fun! You also tend to make me a little more carefree. I think it's time you came back to me.

What do you think? Do you think you can behave yourself this time and not make my hair dry and gross? Do you think you could stay nice and shiny golden just a little longer and hide my nasty dark and recently graying strands? Do you also think you could cost a little bit less? You are kind of expensive and I am kinda not rollin in the dough.

Listen I know I am asking a lot but brunette and I are kinda having issues lately and I'm seriously considering leaving brunette behind. Think about it. Please get back to me in a timely manner as this is very time sensitive. Also no pressure but even though brunette and I are having our issues I think brunette is building an incredibly strong case against you. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours truly,

Stacey Bacon

Easy Tasty Corn Chowder

I made this corn chowder tonight and served it with BLT's. It was delicious! Casey doesn't like summer squash so he picked out all of his squash pieces, (he's a good sport) but I loved it just the way it was. Super fast and easy and a great way to use up squash from the garden.

Summer Squash and Corn Chowder

Get 2 RISK-FREE ISSUES!

Ingredients

• 2 slices applewood-smoked bacon
• 3/4 cup sliced green onions, divided
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 pound yellow summer squash, chopped
• 1 pound frozen white and yellow baby corn kernels, thawed and divided
• 2 1/4 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation

1. Cook bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 2 teaspoons drippings in pan. Crumble bacon, and set aside. Add 1/2 cup onions, celery, and squash to drippings in pan; sauté 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

2. Reserve 1 cup corn; set aside. Place the remaining corn and 1 cup milk in a blender; process until smooth. Add remaining 1 1/4 cups milk, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper to blender; process just until combined. Add pureed mixture and reserved 1 cup corn to pan. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/8 teaspoon salt. Ladle about 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 4 bowls; top each serving with about 1 tablespoon bacon, 1 tablespoon remaining onions, and 1 tablespoon cheese.

So Refreshing!!!!!

Yesterday as I was thanking passengers and bidding them farewell after

our flight, a lady smiled at me and said, "You look so healthy! It is so

refreshing to see a healthy young lady. There are too many skinny

girls in the world! " To which I replied......"uh thank you?"

What is wrong with people? I know she was trying to pay me a compliment

but seriously who wants to be told she doesn't fit into the skinny girl category?

I know I'm not a toothpick. I don't want other people telling me this. Sheesh!

Girls Weekend!

Casey was out of town this past week and so I invited Chloe over to keep me company. I love spending time with Chloe and we always have so much fun because we always do little projects and crafts when we get together. Abbey's birthday was coming up so I decided to make her a headband. Chloe was my model so I could see the finished product.

Kim found this darling idea for "grate gifts" for fathers day. They are brownie cupcakes that look like the grill. I think they turned out adorable. I especially love the shishkebabs ;)

Thanks Chloe for keeping me busy so I didn't miss Case as much!

Hawaii 2010

Our Awesome Swimming pool!

We enjoyed many hours laying out by this massive gorgeous pool

This is a beautiful courtyard on the hotel grounds.

There were a couple of black head swans and some cute ducks

wandering around.

Of course there were beautiful flowers everywhere!

There were several hammocks throughout the grounds

Casey's best totem pole pose :)

This is the beach that is right outside the Marriott

I love this picture. Casey is smiling so nicely! I think

the dark silhouette of the palm trees looks beautiful.

Eating at Portifinos and enjoying the view!

This beach was gorgeous. The sun was setting

and there were surfers everywhere. I do not love

this picture of me but I think Casey's look is especially lovely!

The gang at the 4 mile mark of our 8 mile hike.

We all look a little rough!

Hanakapiai Falls

The views and scenery on the hike were stunning.

This picture is my favorite of the whole trip. I've

swallowed my pride and posted it (lets be honest

I look like a weirdo) Casey's face is priceless! We were

facing into the sun and the squint factor was in full force.

Oh how I love Hawaii! Casey and I were able to go to Kauai the first week of May. We joined his parents and his sister Cari and her husband Jason. We stayed at the Marriott and enjoyed every minute of it.

We went on a beautiful hike to Hanakapiai Falls. It is an 8 mile hike round trip. 4 miles into the Falls and then 4 back to the start. I'm pretty sure that's the longest and most beautiful hike I have ever been on. I was absolutely filthy and should have planned better for photo opportunities. We woke up extremely early and I opted for no make up and a braid. (not my best look) Parts of the hike were a little tricky. We had to cross the river several times and grapple on some steep rock inclines but all in all it was a nice easy hike! I loved it!

The rest of the time we just relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine and refreshing ocean air! We ate many incredible meals and delicious desserts. ( my favorite was a delicious carrot cake with the most amazing cream cheese/butter cream frosting I've ever tasted)

I've been to all the major Islands now and I'm thinking Kauai is my new favorite. I love them all for the different beauty and fun they have to offer but Kauai is the epitome of what I think Hawaii should be ;) I cannot wait to go back!

Easy Cute Headbands

I was watching Studio Five one morning and they were making these cute necklaces out of metal washers. I loved the necklace idea but even more than that I loved the cute fabric flowers that were pinned to some of the necklaces. I researched some blogs and finally found an instructional post on how to make the flowers.

They are super easy to make and I thought they would be darling on a headband. If you know me well you know I have quite the impressive collection of headbands ;) I have been obsessed with making them for a few months now!

From sun to snow to torrential rain in less than a day....oh the joys of traveling the country

I enjoyed some fabulous pool time in Santa Barbara yesterday. I went out to the pool around 5 pm and enjoyed the 70+ degree warmth for a few glorious hours. Just over twelve hours later I touched down in Denver to nearly a foot of snow and temperatures in the twenties! What the what?

I am in Arkansas now and I am soaking wet! I went for a walk in a comfortable 59 degree climate and after a 20 minute walk and an hour in Barnes and Noble I decided to make the trek back to my hotel. It looked pretty gray outside but I figured I could make the 20 minute walk back before the rains came. Uh.....I was wrong. Lets just say that It's a good thing I wear a padded bra! I pretty much look like I decided to take a shower with my clothes on.

Call it a perk or call it a curse; different time zones and different climates in just around 24 hours! I'm off to sit in the jacuzzi to warm my drenched body.

Matte about you

I'm in love with this new product by Essie. I love keeping my nails nicely polished and I am all about new and trendy colors. Having a "matte " finish on your nails is a big trend right now and Essie makes this top coat that turns any glossy color into a matte finish! It is so cool and works so fast. I think my favorite thing about it is that once you put it on it takes about 30 seconds to dry and then your good to go. You can touch your nails and not get any nicks!

Grrrrr.....

Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Honestly I am finding it very hard to wipe the scowl off of my face. Its ridiculous really and thinking about it and writing down on my blog is actually making me smile. What a sour puss i've been for the last few days. Everything is irritating and too loud and too bright and too lame. Ha! I seriously need to lighten up. I think Casey is afraid of me. (sorry honey I do love you but do you really have to wear your ski helmet at the breakfast table? On any other day this would make me smile. )

I am still in pain from my darn tooth surgery and I want to blame my ornery mood on this fact but frankly that's just an excuse. I am choosing this behavior and I need a spanking. A good kick in the pants is what I need and a total attitude adjustment. My life is amazing. Wonderful husband, nice place to live, great job, fabulous family, really awesome friends, a ghetto booty that won't quit, etc. I really am so blessed and need to get off of my high horse and settle down. This is my public apology to any one who has suffered from my foul mood! The grump is officially leaving the building and Little Miss Happy Pants is here to stay!

Oh boy oh boy!

Ha that title kinda makes it sound like I am announcing a bun in the oven. Nope still no babies. It's actually just how I've been feeling lately! Just busy and sometimes overwhelmed. In my last post I promised pictures.... that clearly didn't happen. I was sick for my whole 4 day trip and pretty much just slept the entire time.

When I got done with that trip Case and I started babysitting for a family in our ward. We babysat from Friday the 8th to Saturday the 16th. It was a long week but the kids were darling and for the most part everything went really smoothly. Casey left for the annual Bacon Beaver Creek Ski Trip on Thursday so I had the kids for a few days by myself. I've decided I like parenting a whole lot better with a helper. :)

Saturday night after I left the McGees my mouth started hurting and I had a really bad headache. I woke up many times that night from a severe toothache. I took some ibuprofen and hoped it would get better fast. After suffering through church and another sleepless night I decided to call in sick to work and go to the Dentist. I haven't been to the dentist in many years (like 12....how horrible is that?) Needless to say things weren't exactly perfect in my mouth. Dr. Call decided to extract one of my wisdom teeth (the one giving me problems) right there on the spot. It was quite the experience. The tooth didn't want to come out and I was getting a little anxious. ( it is so not fun to be awake for that whole process) It came out finally and they sent me on my way! I am not feeling better though. My mouth is still killing me :( I'm sure it's just from all the digging around to get my tooth out. Man I am not a big fan of dental work.

I am sitting at home by myself in pain and missing my husband (he gets home tomorrow) So I am trying to keep myself busy so I don't think about the pain.

Here are the pictures I promised. They are just some of my favorites from Thanksgiving and Christmas. There are quite a few....sit back and enjoy!

Case and I in Vegas for Thanksgiving

Case and I eating at the Encore. He surprised me with a
fabulous room on the top floor of the Encore!

Enjoying a Black Tie Sunday at Serendipity

Serendipity is such a cute girly place ;)

All of the nieces and nephews! Love these kids.

Miss Lily! She is such a doll!

Bekah did a beautiful job on the tables

Miss Hannah! I sure love that smile

The delicious spread

The "under six club"

This picture is not the best but I had to show off
Lily's darling outfit.

Jeff's girls adore Casey. You could always
find one of them snuggled up to him.

Casey's makeover. Chloe and Alexis worked him
over quite nicely.

All of us dressed in white at the Vegas Temple
after Taylor went through for the first time.

If you look closely at Casey he has a very charming
look on his face.....uh

I had a dinner party at my house for Relief Society.
I loved how the table turned out.

Our gingerbread house :)

Casey chillin in his gift from Kim and Mat

Christmas morning at Grandma Chrispy's

Casey loved his giant stocking filled with goodies!

My beautiful new piano

Sledding at Thanksgiving point

All bundled up :)

The cutest snowbunnies I know

Baby Jason wasn't too impressed with sledding

Uncle Tyler built a ramp for the kiddies

Miss Hailey caught some great air

Jason is Casey with blue eyes. It's crazy how much they
look like each other.

Baby Blakely on her blessing day